How the Chivers changed a life in one hour (15 HQ Photos)

Here at theCHIVE, we'd always wanted to create a charity to champion the orphaned causes of the world, a charity for the underdogs. We endeavor to give meaning to unfamiliar acronyms like SMS, OI, and yesterday, the story of a Chivette named Gina with CRPS.

The day of a launch is the culmination of so much hard work. Brian Mercedes, the Executive Director of Chive Charities and myself work for weeks to craft the story with Gina's help. Everybody at theCHIVE offices pitches in with these stories, it's truly a group effort. Then there's the travel, finishing touches, and the tense moments prior to second when Gina finally hits the publish button on her own story.

But after that, Gina's story no longer belongs to us. We put it in the capable hands of theCHIVE community. And you've proven that your capacity for giving is unmatched by any community, online or otherwise.

We'd set Gina's financial goal at $60,000 and launched the story at 1pm PST. Thirty minutes later we'd raised $25,000, at which point, the giving only accelerated. Each time we refreshed the page, another $5,000 would appear. Gina turned to me and said, "I can't believe this is happening."

Just past 2pm, the Chivers hit the $60,000 goal. We had never raised that much money that fast, ever. It took you only one hour to forever change the course of a woman's life. Gina was overwhelmed, as were the rest of us. There were tears. Then beer.

Thanks you, Chivers. We really wanted this one. We all fell in love with Gina here. We watched her smile and joke around, all while fighting through constant pain and tremors. You've helped ease her pain, both physically and emotionally. You should all be very proud.

Here are how events unfolded yesterday. Enjoy...

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Gina on Face Time with her Mom and Dad.

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Gina read all the comments the Chivers left for her throughout the day. She told me reading all the kind words of support was the best part of her experience.

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Gina hit the refresh button to see if we cleared $60,000…

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We raised the money so fast, many Chivers have emailed us wanting to help. It’s easy, simply make a donation to the Chive Fund.

The Chive Fund exists to support people in need of smaller generosities than the headline campaigns, help underfunded campaigns meet their goals, and build support that allows Chive Charities to operate (currently 1 awesome employee). Leo and I will never receive a paycheck from Chive Charities.

The Chive Fund recently reunited USAF SSgt Mark Barrett with his family and Autistic son. That story here.

Thanks again to all the Chivers for your support yesterday. You’ve given a voice to thousands of CRPS sufferers and helped a deserving girl when she needed it the most. You really are helping make the world 10% happier.